By MARY TURNER
This week I am excited to share an update written by Bethany Basmajian with Free Market all about their Fall Seed Exchange.
“On Sunday, September 20th, Free Market Collective hosted its Fall Seed Exchange at the historic Odd Fellows Lodge in Knights Ferry. From noon to 5 p.m., the lodge was filled with local artists, makers, gardeners, families, and community members coming together to practice what Free Market calls “the art of giving and receiving.”
The lodge was full of local creativity, with a special highlight on youth artists and makers from the community. Alongside the artists and vendors, guests were invited to participate in a free seed and plant exchange.
A 30-foot table was filled with vegetable and flower seeds, plants, and garden treasures. Guests were invited to bring seeds, sprouts, plants, or other abundance from their gardens to share and then take what they needed. But bringing something was never a requirement. Everyone was encouraged to come empty-handed and receive for free, because there is always plenty to share, and there was!
Free Market was especially grateful to the Oakdale Garden Club for donating seed packets to the exchange and to the Odd Fellows Lodge for continually opening its doors to community sharing and gatherings like this one.
The Fall Seed Exchange is part of Free Market Collective’s ongoing work in Knights Ferry. Free Market hosts two seed exchanges each year, celebrating the spring and fall growing seasons on the third Sunday of February and the third Sunday of September.
The event also serves as a fundraiser to help Free Market continue its work in the community. Free Market’s three-branch operation includes its monthly food distribution, creative workshops and community programs supporting local artists and business owners, and ongoing work in the Knights Ferry Community Garden behind the Odd Fellows Lodge.
The community garden has become a place for learning, growing, and restoring habitat. Free Market is working to bring back native plants and create habitat for creatures great and small. In Fall of 2025, FMC installed a native habitat kit focused on pollinators and monarch butterflies. The plants are thriving, and some of the first seeds harvested from the garden were shared at the Fall Seed Exchange, helping spread both awareness and abundance throughout the community.
Free Market also hosted a vegetable sprout sale and raffle during the event, with proceeds going toward continuing its community programs.
The group was honored to welcome Sierra Mutual Aid and Stone Soup from Tuolumne County. They served delicious soup and shared about their work to bring abundance to all by helping people learn to grow their own vegetables, providing free resources, and working directly with individuals and communities to help establish gardens.
Throughout the afternoon, the historic lodge was surrounded by even more community activity. Cool Company Shop (the little building on Main Street with the “antiques” sign) was open alongside the event, and the Knights Ferry Art Gallery was also welcoming visitors and hosting a tie-dye workshop.
It was a full and joyful afternoon in Knights Ferry – a celebration of gardens, creativity, young artists, local makers, sharing, and community.
Free Market is grateful to everyone who donated seeds, plants, time, food, art, raffle items, and energy to make the day possible. We are looking forward to gathering again in the spring for another opportunity to share what we have and receive what we need.
FMC will be offering free seeds on the weekend at Cool Company. Open Saturdays and Sundays 1 pm to 4pm; come by and get what you need for free!
There is always plenty to go around.”
Thank you for this amazing update, Bethany. What a wonderful program Free Market is. We appreciate all you do for our community.
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Join the Odd Fellows on Wednesday, September 23 from 6pm-8pm for their monthly community potluck. This month they will be serving Beef Stroganoff, green salad and bread. Guests are invited and encouraged to bring an appetizer or dessert and come early to socialize.
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Don’t forget – The General Store is hosting their first Chili Cookoff on October 2, sign up at the Saloon to get in on the action. $20 buy in, winner takes the pot, a trophy and bragging rights until the next one!
Ongoing Events:
Odd Fellows Breakfast - 1st Sunday of the month @ The Odd Fellows Lodge
Free Market - 2nd Tuesday, 3:30pm @ The Odd Fellows Lodge
Community Clinic Day - Tuesdays, 9am-4pm @ The Russell’s home - (209) 603-5371
Taco Tuesday - 5pm-8pm @ Rick’s Saloon - Live music & Tacos!
Thankful Thursday - Every other Thursday. Free meal with drink purchase 5pm-8pm @ Rick’s Saloon
Knights Ferry Community Church Services - Sundays 9:30am-10:30am
Upcoming Events:
Odd Fellows Potluck Social - September 23, 6pm @ The Odd Fellows Lodge
Chili Cookoff - October 2, 6pm @ Rick’s Saloon
MAC Meeting - October 22, 7pm @ the Community Club (Held quarterly)
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Do you have any exciting Knights Ferry local news, upcoming events, historical facts about the area, jokes or recipes to share? Contact Mary Turner at knightsferrynews@gmail.com
